Four reasons why familial caregiving should be considered in employer wellness benefits
According to a study by MetLife, nearly 21 percent of all US households—over 44 million Americans—provide care for an adult family member.
This means that one in five workers is a caretaker to someone at home, an added responsibility on top of work, parenting, and other obligations that can create physical, mental, and emotional stress. There are ample benefits to considering your employees' whole selves, and supporting their life situations.
Photo by Anupam Mahapatra on Unsplash
Here are some key reasons why it’s imperative that companies begin to consider familial caregiving when crafting wellness packages.
1. Address healthcare costs
Employees who are supported in their caregiving roles are less likely to experience the adverse health effects associated with caregiver stress. This potentially reduces healthcare costs related to stress-induced conditions.
According to The MetLife Study of Working Caregivers and Employer Health Care Costs, “the estimated average additional health cost to employers is 8% more for those with eldercare responsibilities.”
Even further, the same study highlights that this is “often mischaracterized as an ‘older worker’ issue, [yet] demographic trends indicate that a greater number of employees of all ages will assume the role of family caregiver with an increasingly older population. The results demonstrate a clear impact of eldercare burdens on the health issues facing employees ages 18 to 39, as much as those ages 50 and older.”
2. Better productivity
Juggling work deadlines, projects, and caregiver demands at home can wear an employee out—fast. Burnout stems from complete exhaustion—emotional, physical, and mental—which causes many people to feel depressed, helpless, and isolated. A study from the University of Warwick found that happy employees are 12 percent more productive than unhappy ones—the happy employees felt more connected and engaged with their work, which in turn led to better focus and care for their projects and output.
3. Reduce absenteeism for a stronger bottom line
When an employee needs to take leave from work unexpectedly and isn’t properly set up with support and a flexible working environment, it’s the company that ultimately pays. Caregiving employees, for instance, may ask to switch from full-time work to part-time work; this alone could cost an employer an average of $2,300, if the employer needs to hire a temporary employee. There is an added cost of finding and retaining talent while your employee takes a partial leave of absence.
According to the AARP, “Research shows that employers can yield higher profits by making family-friendly policies more accessible because the overall availability of benefits is associated with higher margins. Employees who receive caregiving support are 30 percent more likely to stay with employers. Plus, for every dollar invested in flexible time and telecommuting, you can receive $1.70 to $4.45 in ROI.”
4. Focus on inclusivity
Sadly, the burden of caregiving tends to fall on historically marginalized groups. Women account for 61 percent of caregivers, and 39 percent of caregivers identify as BIPOC. Without support from their employer, these caregiver-employees will look for work elsewhere or leave the workforce altogether, impacting your company’s commitment to DEIJ initiatives and exacerbating an existing problem in the US labor market. Diversity in a workplace is critical for so many reasons: it creates a range of perspectives and thoughts inside your company, builds trust, and can help dismantle discrimination and bias.
Final thoughts
Offering support for your caregiver employees means happier, healthier, more productive workers and, therefore, an improved bottom line. When employees can move forward supported, they are more likely to stay at your company, knowing that they have room to tackle any domestic hurdles alongside their professional ones.
Moreover, the evolving legal and regulatory landscape around familial caregiving may add another layer of urgency to consider. With some regions implementing laws that expand family leave policies, your company can proactively adapt to these changes by integrating caregiver support into your wellness programs sooner rather than later.
Consider integrating a wellness offering like Steadii within your company’s employee assistance programs and reap the rewards in multiple areas, including a return on investment.
Steadii is a virtual support service and online platform with a mission to support caregivers as whole people. Through this support, we reduce depression and burnout in an often-overlooked group serving at the front line of care. Our community of advocate coaches employs one-on-one support and action-based practices.